Well, dear readers, I’m happy to report that Muse Margaret read the first eighty pages of the new book and informed me she was very happy with them. She found the story engaging, the detail fun, and really likes the leading character as well as the character I introduced about fifteen pages ago. This, of course, made me very happy. She had two little tiny notes, both having to do with initials – she wanted me to actually say what the initials stood for and she was absolutely right – those two changes took exactly ten seconds. So, onward we go.
Yesterday was a fine old day. I was up at ten, futzed and finessed more than usual, literally adding three pages of material and smoothing out a lot of other stuff, as well as moving a couple of things around so they flowed better. Once that was done, I printed out the eighty pages and went to Staples and dropped them off for Xeroxing. I went over to Jerry’s for a bite, but there were about ten people waiting and I don’t wait – ever. Hopefully the Jerry’s holiday madness ended yesterday, as all the kids will be back in school as of today – once that happens they forget all about Jerry’s and I’ll be back to my usual tables and no waiting. Instead, I simply drove over to Four and Twenty Pies and had some very good eggs benedict, some home fries that were not really home fries but cubed potatoes – don’t call cubed potatoes home fries – that is bad form. I ate it all up, then I went back to Staples and picked up the Xeroxed pages. I came home, Muse Margaret called to tell me she was home and to bring them over, which I did. We had a nice chat for about thirty minutes, then I left and came back home.
I wrote another three pages, which brought the day’s tally to six. I then finished watching the Fritz Lang motion picture entitled Western Union. It’s not a masterpiece or anything, but it’s quite enjoyable, especially if you like Randolph Scott, which I very much do. The transfer has pretty good color but is clearly off an element that is not the camera negative. How far away that element is I have no idea. Some of it is very sharp and pleasing, and some isn’t.
After that, I had a little Klondike ice cream thing, and then wrote another two pages, then went back and added a page, and then over the course of the rest of the evening, two more pages for a total of eleven. I also began a new chapter. I’m hoping this new chapter will move along at a steady clip – I know the structure of this chapter already, know what it has to cover, and know how it ends. If it ends up being what the other chapters are, it will take over a day to write it – all the chapters save for chapter one are around twenty pages, although the chapter I just finished is sixteen. I’m kind of enjoying doing longer chapters and, of course, when they’re in actual book form they won’t be as long as they are in the manuscript. I took a hot shower, got one little fun idea to add to an already-written sequence, which I then did. One thing that may have to adjust in terms of my writing schedule is the evening work because last night there were crickets that were so loud I couldn’t think straight, which is very annoying. Either I haven’t noticed them heretofore, or they just arrived. I screamed at them a couple of times and obviously they hear that because they stop. So, I may now try to write most of the eleven pages before it gets dark – not sure how successful I’ll be at that, but that’s what I’m going to try to do.
Today, I’ll be up by ten, I’ll futz and finesse and write a couple of pages, then I have a noon-fifteen lunch meeting in Burbank. That will probably last between an hour and an hour and a half, then I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, then come home. The Kay Cole CDs will actually be here today, but we can’t ship them because Kay is not coming to sign the booklets for a day or two, and the helper is then gone until Saturday, so they’ll all go out then, still quite a bit ahead of schedule. I’m hoping for some news about something, hopefully positive, so I’m putting all my positive vibes and xylophones in the universe. I’ll continue writing and try to finish most of the pages before dark, then I’ll relax, finish making the show order, and begin the commentary. Since this show has a few songs we’ve done before, I can just cut and paste that commentary and switch it up a little, so I’m hoping the commentary writing goes quickly and of course I don’t mind if the crickets scream their guts out when I’m doing that. It’s when they do that when I’m trying to keep my head clear and my concentration completely focused that gets on my nerves.
The rest of the week is writing, writing, and more writing, Kay will come sign CDs, we’ll get them shipped, and that’s about it – oh, and also helping LACC set up an Indiegogo campaign.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, futz and finesse, write, have a lunch meeting, hopefully pick up some packages, write, write, and write more, finish making the show order, and begin the commentary, hopefully all without interference from the damn crickets. Today’s topic of discussion: Of the classical music warhorses, which are your favorites? And because I’m so woefully ignorant of certain composers, which Mozart symphonies do you love and would recommend? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had such a lovely report from Muse Margaret.